Blue Point Filly Tops Tattersalls Somerville Sale

A new record price was set at the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale Sept. 2 when a daughter of sire-on-fire Sioux Nation brought the hammer down at 185,000 guineas. The Manister House Stud-consigned filly was cataloged as a sibling to one winner, but that number had become two when her 2-year-old half brother Varzi opened his account at Pontefract last month. "She's been bought for a group of owners to go to Paddy Twomey," said winning bidder Mark McStay. "Steve Weston has taken a share of her, and he also has a piece of Velozee, who came from the same farm and is by the same sire. Patrick O'Brien, a friend of Steve's and an existing owner of Paddy's through Magical Hope, is also involved. "She's a lovely filly and looks fast; let's hope she is. Sioux Nation gets a very nicely shaped individual that's hard to walk away from. There were lots of different people interested in her so I'm delighted we got her. I had to ask my two men in New York for an extra 5,000, so that was absolutely my last bid." The filly's price smashed the existing Somerville sale record by clear water. The previous high mark of 160,000 guineas had been hit on three occasions, including twice last year. The new record proved short-lived, however, as it was broken for a second time later in the session when Kerri Radcliffe got the better of Anthony Bromley to secure a Blue Point (IRE) filly who brought 190,000 guineas (US$269,800, 1 guinea=US$1.42). The youngster, who was bred and sold by Ballyphilip Stud, is a sibling to the Italian listed scorer Niente Scuse (IRE) and the listed-placed Our Cody. "I love the filly," Radcliffe said. "The breeder, the pedigree, everything about her is just fabulous. I do believe she'd have made more if she was in Book 2. Blue Point is on fire, she's a great filly, so it's happy days. She's going to go to Richard Hannon, I've been told. So Richard, you're getting this filly!" Ballyphilip's Paul McCartan said the record-breaking transaction was no great surprise given the filly's inherent quality. "We put her in the sale to stick out," he said. "Having said that, I think the people who bought her got good value; she's a very good package. We all know about Blue Point, he's having a super year, and she's out of a young Pivotal mare who's bred two black-type horses already. "The horse in Italy could be very good, he's owned by Mike Repole. I was very happy with the price, but I think the people who bought her did well." The sale generated 6,781,750 guineas (US$9,635,276) in turnover from 215 lots sold, with an average of 31,543 guineas (US$44,815) and median of 23,000 guineas (US$32,677).